OrbitzTLC Now Takes the Worry Out of Hotel Late-Arrivals

Expanding on its leadership in flight alerts, Orbitz now will alert hotels of late arrivals for customers when flights are delayed

Experiencing another flight delay? Worried you might not make it to your hotel before midnight and your room reservation might evaporate due to your late arrival? Worry no more. Orbitz will proactively work to ensure this doesn't happen to you with Orbitztlc.

Orbitz announced that the company is launching a hotel notification service for customers who book a package (flight + hotel) through the website. If their flight is delayed, Orbitz will personally call customers and with their permission alert the hotel to let the front desk know they will be arriving late.

In addition to late arrivals, OrbitzTLC works for customers who may not make it at all to their hotel. If a flight is cancelled, Orbitz will personally call customers and with their permission work to rebook affected customers at a new hotel.

"We are now working to ensure that your hotel stay will be honored if your flight is delayed, one more way the high tech, human touch of OrbitzTLC serves our customers," said Randy Wagner, Chief Marketing Officer, Orbitz Worldwide.

"Our customers tell us that the extra OrbitzTLC they get free, every time they book with us, is very valuable because it means they'll have a more enjoyable trip."

The new OrbitzTLC hotel alerts works in the following way:

When booking a package (hotel + flight), customers need to include a mobile phone number in their "traveler profile" so that they can be reached in-transit.
The OrbitzTLC Center will monitor the flights of customers who book hotel + flight trips and flag arrival delays that could mean late arrival to a hotel after midnight. This is the time when most hotels release rooms that customers with reservations have not checked in to yet.
OrbitzTLC Agents will personally contact customers via their cell phone to inquire if they would like Orbitz to call ahead to their hotel to ensure their reservation is honored.
Once receiving customer consent, OrbitzTLC Agents will call ahead to a customer's hotel to inform the property of the late guest arrival and ensure their reservation is honored.

"Many lodging properties' reservation systems will mark a 'next day' arrival for customers checking in at a hotel after midnight," said Seth Brody, vice president of hotels for Orbitz Worldwide. "Hotels might cancel reservations for late-arriving guests, so Orbitz is creating unique solutions to ensure our customers always have a room during their trip, regardless of unexpected delays."

CHICAGO, Dec. 19, 2006 /PRNewswire/ --
Source: Orbitz

Orbitz Asks: Don't You Deserve a Little TLC When You Travel?

Features Include Expanded OrbitzTLC Air Care Alerts, New Hotel Scorecard

Orbitz, the faster and easier way to find the trip you want, today announced the launch of OrbitzTLC, a sub-brand designed to help travelers find, use and benefit from the value-added services they get along with great prices when they book on Orbitz ... and Go.

"This is not just another 'initiative' or 'guarantee.' It's the way we do business," said Mitch Truwit, president and CEO of global consumer travel at Cendant TDS. "Orbitz has always been ahead of the pack in delivering great service. OrbitzTLC is designed to give customers the best possible travel experience."

OrbitzTLC is represented by an icon that will be introduced on-site today. It will highlight the growing number of enhanced and new services that customers can customize and enjoy when they use Orbitz.com to book travel. The OrbitzTLC logo, which features everyone's lifeline today -- their phone or PDA -- reinforces how customers report they prefer to stay connected and up to date on Orbitz trip management services. That's one reason why 7 out of 10 customers give Orbitz their mobile phone number.

"Winning the game of travel today is about more than price. Shoppers not only want great prices -- they want more for their money," said Randy Wagner, chief marketing officer for Orbitz. "OrbitzTLC is all about anticipating travelers' wishes with great solutions, giving them more control over their travel experience before they ask."
OrbitzTLC captures and builds on the heritage of the brand which:

-- Pioneered the air search matrix, which other online services have
adopted
-- Has its own Care Center, staffed by former air traffic controllers to
watch the skies
-- Includes a dedicated team focused on preparing travelers to enjoy their
trip, even when faced with the challenges of travel today
-- Is a leader in customer satisfaction, developing innovations in hotel
search and leading the industry in creating customer care products like
OrbitzTLC Alerts, evidenced by a long list of customer service awards
including recognition from J.D. Power & Associates for our hotels
business, Keynote Systems for our air and car rental services and
Business Traveler Magazine, which named Orbitz as the Best Travel
Website in 2005.

"In a major quantitative research study, travelers gave us the great news that what we already do now -- along with the ways we plan to expand the value Orbitz adds -- is unique, relevant, meaningful and motivating to book more often," continues Ms. Wagner. "We just need to showcase our offerings. OrbitzTLC is our new way of helping people find the extras they get when they book on Orbitz.com."

OrbitzTLC is designed to set the stage for the best travel experience every step of the way, from searching to booking to taking that flight back home, focusing on three value-adds:

1. Fast-Finding the Right Choices to Book Your Best Trip
2. High-Tech/High-Touch Traveler Care
3. Perks that Make a Good Trip -- Great!

OrbitzTLC provides unique functionality and relevant, insider information that makes finding and booking the best travel choices faster and easier. As part of OrbitzTLC, new features are being added onsite frequently to help travelers find and book their trip more easily. Most recent include:

**NEW OrbitzTLC Hotel Scorecard

Orbitz' hotel star reviews have long reflected the combined information of well known editorial reviews, Orbitz' own hotel market managers around the world and customer feedback, enabling Web surfers to make an educated decision when choosing a hotel.

Now, in addition to hotel star rating reviews, Orbitz' new Hotel Scorecard gives travelers an even broader assessment -- all the relevant information they need to know about a hotel property -- from actual customer reviews, contrasted with editorial from the travel experts at Frommer's -- all in one simple, easy to use format.

Orbitz' Hotel Scorecard combines the first hand knowledge of over 60,000 of its hotel customers. User reviews are solicited from Orbitz customers who have actually booked and stayed at the hotel, and include individual scores on amenities, maintenance, hotel staff, room comfort, location and overall value. Customers give the hotel an overall numeric rating when asked, "Based on your recent stay, please rate your overall satisfaction with this hotel."

Customers also can publish their own account of their hotel stay and things to do during their trip (shopping, dining, nightlife, money saving opportunities, etc.), adding a personal touch that offers useful, insider details that bring the rating system to life. Another unique feature is that user reviews can also be filtered based on the type of traveler -- business, leisure, couples and families -- so the information is even more relevant to searchers and bookers.

Rounding out the hotel scorecard are more than 6,300 third party reviews from Frommer's, one of travel's most reputable sources. Experts offer travelers a discerning, objective expert opinion on each hotel property.

High-Tech/High-Touch Traveler Care

Why book on Orbitz? The reason is not only great deals and prices. OrbitzTLC proactively anticipates barriers to travel with superior services that ease dealing with the unavoidable. Combining the benefits of high-tech and high-touch customer service, Orbitz keeps its customers and suppliers informed and updated, giving them the control to make smarter travel plans. Some of those features include:

**NEW OrbitzTLC Executive Car Service Alerts

Why book your car service on Orbitz? Not only because Orbitz offers executive luxury sedan services in over 30 major domestic markets and is expanding this program every week. With the launch of OrbitzTLC, Orbitz also will proactively manage a customer's reservation and update the car company with any flight delays or changes.

The OrbitzTLC Team

The OrbitzTLC Team is a highly experienced group of travel professionals that include:
-- News monitoring specialists that watch out for our customers 24/7
-- A group of former military air traffic controllers who monitor standard
airline flight reports and customize proprietary projections based on
weather conditions across the United States. Reports are filed on site
in Orbitz' "Flying Forecast."
-- Former journalists are constantly updating relevant travel news and
editorial content on site at Orbitz.

OrbitzTLC Air Alerts

Orbitz customers who book a flight on most airlines can receive OrbitzTLC Air Alerts (formerly Care Alerts) to help make their travel experience more efficient and enjoyable. Travelers can designate how they prefer to receive OrbitzTLC Air Alerts -- by mobile phone, pager, PDA or email, as well as designate the timeframe they want to receive information on the status of their flight, from five, four or up to three hours prior to departure. Orbitz customers also can enroll up to six family members, colleagues or friends to receive OrbitzTLC Air Alerts.

OrbitzTLC Weather Alerts

In addition to air-related alerts, travelers also receive emails from the OrbitzTLC Team when potential threatening weather could affect their trip. Our air traffic analysts monitor weather conditions that affect flights 24/7. Additionally, customers are immediately informed via emailed alerts when major weather systems suddenly interfere with travel plans. For example, during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, Orbitz sent out 25,000 alerts to customers traveling to affected areas to inform them of delays, airport closings, damage to hotels and other vital information necessary to help them make appropriate changes to their travel.

OrbitzTLC Emergency Care Alerts

We have taken customer service to the next level with OrbitzTLC Emergency Alerts, personalized messages that notify customers of travel disruptions that could potentially affect their trip, such as the recent NYC transit strike and the Paris suburb riots in late 2005. OrbitzTLC Emergency Care Alerts allow the OrbitzTLC Team to disseminate travel updates to customers the moment they arise, providing a level of service unavailable through other online travel companies.

Making a Good Trip -- Great!

OrbitzTLC is also about giving its customers insider access to perks and special offers that will enhance their travel experience, making a good trip, great. Moving forward, Orbitz will be focused on developing perks and special offers, available exclusively to our customers. Examples would be offering our travelers extras such as 2-for-1 tickets to Broadway shows, coupons to restaurants close to their hotels and free Internet access at airports.

"We've planted a stake in the ground and we are committed to build our OrbitzTLC reputation," said Truwit. "Reactive service is the ticket of entry. We are delivering a different value proposition, building on the heritage of a great brand."